The Spot Athletics Blog

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Reflections on Learn to Train 8

This past weekend, I had the honor of attending the final Learn to Train seminar by EliteFTS. It was a wonderful 2 day event- the first day comprised of lectures and the second of the hands-on learning and training portion. As opposed to technical things I learned from the presentations and coaching portions of LTT (which were a lot), I’m going to focus on a few of the broader takeaways that I had.

The best approach to training is a holistic one. I don’t mean that in the crunchy way. The team at EliteFTS is comprised of individuals of a variety of backgrounds- powerlifters, bodybuilders, strongmen, PhD students, strength and conditioning coaches, etc. Everyone has a different specialty and a different way of approaching things. This all adds up to having the most expansive knowledge base that you can find on anything strength related. The same goes for your own training or finding a trainer. You need to draw from a variety of sources to make yourself the most complete athlete, powerlifter, or bodybuilder. Find trustworthy resources on everything from strength training to nutrition to guide you on your path. That’s why EliteFTS and LTT are such great resources- no matter your goals or experience level.

Legacy: Many times throughout the weekend, the idea of your legacy came up. Dave Tate talked about how important the longevity and legacy of EliteFTS is as well as individual coaches and participants discussing the impact they want to make on those around them. No one at that seminar is forced to help other people learn how to coach and lift. But so many people touched on the importance of passing on knowledge and helping those who are starting out. Whether you’re a newbie to training or you’re an established coach, it’s always important to remember those who mentored you or took time out to help you along. Most of us got to where we are because other people have shared their time and knowledge and everyone owes it to the rest of the community to help out those around them.

I learned so much over the weekend, both on the technical and non technical side of training. It was great to be around so many passionate individuals- both pros and newbies alike. I’m very fortunate to be able to attend events at EliteFTS to learn valuable lifting and life lessons. Whether you’re a coach or a lifter, jump on any opportunity to learn from those who know more than you.

Coach Lily

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Speed, Strength & Conditioning, Personal training & Fitness Class Training Video Montage 4/14-4/28

It was another great couple weeks here at The Spot. While some of our club volleyball athletes are finishing up their seasons, our Spring sport athletes are in full swing, and our youth athletes are becoming better and better each week. All of our Personal training and Met Con clients are working hard to reach their goals they set for the summer. Everyone of our clients is working towards becoming a champion!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Monday, April 21, 2014

Training with Tempo

I don’t know about you guys, but when training starts, I like music blasting in the background. I want to feel as though the music was made to be a soundtrack for my set. As corny as it sounds, loud music with a strong rhythm makes me feel like I’m on top of the world during training, so whenever I go to a gym that replays the same old top ten hits on repeat at quarter volume, I usually don’t have an excellent workout unless I pull out my own headphones. It could just be in my mind, and I might be lying to myself when I say that music gets me pumped, but according the American Council on Exercise, music really does help raise exercise intensity.

The American Council on Exercise offers three ways that music influences exercise: 1) It increases the tendency to step with the beat, 2) the desire to move versus remain still, 3) and it distracts from discomfort felt during exercise. There have been many studies that support the claim that exercise intensity can be driven by fast tempo, and think about it: we are a species that loves tempo. ACE uses the example of Roman rowers who had a drum beating in the background to not only synchronize everyone’s strokes, but to increase intensity as well.

So if you want to exercise with more intensity, think about getting a pair of headphones and jamming out to your favorite music. I’ve provided a short list of songs below that I really enjoy listening to during my warm-up to get me pumped. Enjoy!

The Blister Exists/Slipknot

I Wanna Be Sedated/ Ramones

Airplane Mode/ Flobots

Ugol Padeniya/ 2NRO8OT

Going Down in Flames/ 3 Doors Down

Nights Off/ Siriusmo

4 Minutes /Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland

Reptilia/ The Strokes

Savannah Steamer, Intern

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Are You Getting The Most Out Of Your Workouts?

So you have a great workout routine down, you’re committed, your spending lots of time in the gym, and maybe you’re even enjoying it. But how much attention are you paying to everything that goes on outside the gym that can make or break your results? Don’t underestimate the importance of what goes on in the hours you’re not in the gym and the impact it has on reaching your goals.

Sleep

Do you train hard only to go home and sleep for 5 hours? You could be sabotaging a lot of your training and diet. Aside from not having energy and undermining your body’s ability to heal itself after working out, numerous studies have shown that too little sleep can actually lead to weight gain, even when your diet is on point.

Nutrition

Diet is an important part of reaching goals, whether they are performance or body composition based. As they like to say, “you can’t out work a bad diet” (or something along those lines). But it’s true- even if your workouts are great, if you over eat a lot of junk, it will show. Likewise, if you’re not eating quality foods with sufficient protein, fats, and carbohydrates, it can severely affect your performance in the gym and impede your body’s ability to build muscle and heal itself after an intense workout.

Soft tissue/mobility work

Foam rolling, massages, and other forms of soft tissue work can help your body repair and feel better after a tough session. Mobility work plays an important role in your ability to move well and feel good- inside the gym and out. Yes, they take time and are kind of boring but they will pay off in the long run.

Time Spent in the Gym

You could be working out too much. Yes, that is a thing. Obviously working out too little is a problem but at a certain time, you hit a point of diminishing returns on the other end of the spectrum. In the gym for 4 hours? Benching every day and your bench isn’t going up? If you’re not making progress, this could be an issue you need to address.

Make sure you pay as much attention to what you do outside of the gym to ensure you get the most return from your hard work.

-Coach Lily

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/lost-sleep-can-lead-to-weight-gain/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951287/